Library Apology
by Laser Lance 720
Summary: Belle was swarmed with research trying to free the fairies from the hat when Captain Hook walked through the door.


Peace was a commodity in short supply most days in Storybrooke Maine. However, the last week and a half had proved bountiful in it. It was a nice change in pace after the repeated curses, evil witches and increasing number of magical storms with dire consequences attached. The denizens had enjoyed the lack of threats to their lives.

In all the peace it had just given Belle further time to reflect on her crumbling life. Each morning waking up without Rumple by her side sent her spiraling in tears, before she washed her face, threw on some concealer and made her way to the library. There were still fairies trapped in a hat after all; fairies trapped their by Rumple's hand. With her husband gone, Belle was left trying to clean the mess.

Rooting through the stack of books, Belle searched for her translation page. It was somewhere in the mess that her library had become. She tore through books and notes, trying desperately to find it. A groan escaped her lips after ten minutes of searching and coming up short. That page had been the entire prior days work. Losing it set her back. It set her way back.

"Fuck," she cursed, tangling a hand in her hair.

"I didn't think you capable of such language lass."

Belle turned to the heavily accented voice. Her heart caught in her chest at the sight of the leather clad pirate. His face brought back memories of the last time they were in this library together. The fear he had caused her returned in that moment. A sharp pain laced down her back from where he had shot her. The fearsome Captain Hook stood in the doorway, eyes locked on her.

His gaze was different however. Last he was here, there had been hatred and violence in his eyes. Now he looked almost nervous. His weight was shifted onto one foot, his shoulders soft, and an uneasy smile laced his lips. Without the heavy coat and glistening buckles, Captain Hook looked a normal person. She could almost see the Killian Jones the rest of the town had started to accept.

Reaching for the nearest thing to her – a stapler of all things – Belle held it between them. Captain Hook may have taken a step away from being a villain, but a villain was how Belle had known him. And she had learned the hard way not to trust a villain.

"Easy lass."

He raised a hand slowly, and she raised the stapler higher. "Make a move Hook and I will throw this at you. Just because Rumple isn't here, doesn't mean I'm defenseless."

Hook lowered his hand, taking a step back. "I haven't come to hurt you. I assure you, I will not lay a hand on you. Not now. Not ever."

Belle wanted to believe that. She wasn't going to be fooled. "What do you want?"

Hook smirked slightly. It was casual, the wickedness gone from his lips. "I wished to see what this realm has to offer in its literature."

Belle lowered the stapler at that. "Books? You're here for books?"

"Aye."

"You read?"

"I am literate, yes."

Belle just stared at him for a minute. Letting a heavy sigh escape her lips, she tossed the stapler onto the desk. "Bring your books up here to check out. Don't just take them. There's a four book limit. Don't break anything. Don't steal anything."

Hook just continued to smile as he moved into the library. She watched him as he dragged a finger over the spines of several books. He didn't look to be causing trouble. She kept her eye on him until the teenage boy needing to check out a bibliography came up to the counter. Checking him out quickly, she trained her eye back to where Hook had disappeared. She found him a moment later, a thick green book in his hand.

He didn't look to be causing trouble today. Keeping him in the corner of her eye, Belle went back to trying to decipher these translations. She had found her missing page and it was helping her immensely, but progress was still slow. She knew an intermediate language to translate the text to, but being unable to directly translate was beginning to grate on her nerves.

She felt like she had been staring at the runes for hours when a stack of books was dropped with a bang on her table. Jumping at the sound, she glared at Hook. He at least looked sheepish as he scratched behind his ear.

"I've selected my books."

Belle set her book aside and moved to grab his stack. She smirked at his choices. "A Song of Fire and Ice? Harry Potter? Princess Bride?"

"Emma recommended them," was his way of explanation.

Belle nodded, stamping her way through the books. Marking him in the records, she hands him the pile. "The check out time is three weeks. Either return them by that time, or be here to recheck them out. Don't keep them."

"I will endeavor to not incur your wrath on this." Hook nodded his head, slipping his hooked arm under the pile and taking them. His gaze caught the piles of translations. A finger trailed along the text.

"Don't touch that!" Belle swiped his hand away.

Hook pulled a yellowed page towards him. "Fionsiu a chur le draiocht tu magack… Magic removal?"

"You can read this." Belle was frozen. "Whatever it's called."

"Elwan-for. It's roots are in Ol' Gaelic. It wasn't a fairly common tongue when I was a lad, but my mother taught my brother and I a bit of both. She spoke them quiet fluently."

"I've been trying to translate it into Ol' Gaelic and translating it into something easier to understand from there, but it doesn't work as well."

Thinking for a second, Belle pulled her notes of translations and shoved them towards him. He put down the books and took the page. Hook scanned his eyes over it. "You're trying to free the fairies in the hat?"

"Rumple put them in there. I need to get them out."

"You cannot blame yourself for the crocodiles doing. You did not put them in that hat."

"I didn't," a thought suddenly flashed through her mind, "but you did. You put them in there."

That seemed the wrong thing to say. Hook's entire body seemed to deflate at the accusation. A deep regret placed itself in his eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that," Belle back tracked. "I know Rumple had your heart. I know you didn't want to do it."

"But I still did. Rather by desire or not, I am still the cause of the fairies suffering. And they are not the only ones who have suffered by my hand. They are not the only ones I owe retribution to."

Hook placed his stack of books on the desk and looked Belle in the eye. "A few books were not my original intention today. I came here to apologize."

"Apologize?"

"When I first arrived here, I intended to harm you. I did not see you as a person, but as a means to achieving my revenge against the Dark One. And in my desire for vengeance, I shot you. In the back. Your life, it meant nothing to me. Had you died, it would have been by my hand, and I would not have cared any less. I caused you great suffering, and I need to apologize for such."

Belle looked him over, searching for any sign of this being a trick. She found none. He was quinine. The man who had plagued her nightmares stood before her, apology on his lips and redemption on the edge of his gaze.

"I will bring no further harm to you. That I can assure you."

"Well," Belle tapped a hand against the pile of book surrounding her, "thank you. I.. um… thank you. That's...thank you. Enjoy your books."

Killian nodded, reaching to grab his stack. His gaze caught what she had been working on. "If you need assistance in translation, please let me know. I will assist as needed."

He moved to leave, books in hand. He didn't make it three steps before Belle called for him to stop. "I could use a hand. A direct translation of the text would be very helpful."

Again, Killian nodded. "I will be happy to help, Belle."


End file.
